The Algorithm of Spring

84

Maya stepped into the corridor, device in hand, creaks echoing softly through the old building. A thin drift of long-settled dust lifted at her steps, rising as if the building exhaled around her. She dialled, waiting through three rings before her mother answered.

"Maya?" Her mother sounded surprised. "Is everything alright? You never call this late."

"Everything's fine, Umma," Maya said, working to keep her voice casual. "Just checking on you. Seeing how you're doing."

A moment of silence. "You sound strange. Are you certain you're alright?"

Maya closed her eyes, leaning against the wall. Her mother had always sensed whatever Maya thought she hid. "I'm fine. Really. With friends. Working on something important."

"The sort of friends who cause trouble or prevent it?" Her mother's tone balanced between jest and concern.

"Possibly both," Maya admitted. "I'll explain everything soon. I promise."

Another pause. "Whatever you are doing, be careful," her mother said, her voice dropping slightly. "I may not understand the details, Maya, but I understand this world. It does not reward those who speak uncomfortable truths."

Maya caught her breath. Her mother had always understood more than she revealed. "I will. I love you, Umma."

"I love you too. Call tomorrow. I want to hear your voice again."

Maya ended the call, composing herself before returning to the basement. Min-seo continued her final checks.

"Five minutes," Min-seo announced without looking up. "Everything's prepared. Last checks running."

Maya joined them at the console, watching the timer count toward zero.

The three stood together before the console, united by the systems that had betrayed them.

The hum of the servers filled the room, steady and indifferent.

A programmer whose work had been corrupted.

A brother whose sister had been remade.

An artist whose privacy had been weaponised.

"Three minutes," Min-seo said.

Jun-ho distributed three basic devices from his bag. "Untraceable burners. Use only for emergency contact with each other."

"Two minutes."

Maya placed the device in her pocket, thinking about Alan Richards. Would he recognise her as the one dismantling him? Would he comprehend that she'd once been his most dedicated student? The irony wasn't lost on her—the admirer now revealing the master's betrayal. For the first time in weeks, the fear sat behind her, not in front of her.

"One minute," Min-seo stated.

Nobody moved or spoke. Only the quiet operation of machinery filled the silence.

"Thirty seconds."

Maya's hands trembled as she gripped the desk edge. After weeks of manipulation by HarmoniQ, they were finally responding. The evidence they'd gathered would soon spread beyond containment.

"Ten seconds."

Jun-ho's hand found hers, a brief, firm squeeze—a wordless acknowledgment of the cliff edge they were stepping off together.

Min-seo's finger hovered over the enter key, steady despite everything.

"Five... four... three... two... one."

Min-seo pressed enter.

For a moment, the screens stayed eerily blank. Then confirmation messages began appearing on her screens. Files received. Downloads initiated. Publications acknowledging receipt.

"It's done," Min-seo whispered — not triumph, not relief, just fact.